The Sensational Spider-Girl
by Psycho Yuffie
Summary: What if someone else had been bitten by the radioactive spider other than Peter Parker? Enter Scarlett Navy, a teenage girl who blends into the background. An awkward girl who is best friends with Mary Jane Watson. Oh, and she has spider powers. AU.
1. Issue 1: A Wish Granted

**The Sensational Spider-Girl**

_Issue #1: A Wish Granted_

There has been a lot of news lately. A lot of anti-mutant propaganda and news about super-powered people is becoming more frequent. Caught in the middle of this barrage were the young people, who are struggling with growing up in such a chaotic world. Despite this, high school was all too normal. A bunch of kids just trying to find their way: teasing, hazing, it was all so alarmingly normal.

At least, that was how it seemed to Scarlett Navy, a fifteen-year-old female student of Midtown High. A girl of average height, shoulder-length brown hair put up into a ponytail, and glasses covering large, brown eyes. She pushed her way through a congested hallway, trying her best to make it to science before the bell rang—more difficult than it should be, but it is a crowded school. Most people seemed to ignore her as she scrambled past. There was a thunderous slam as she noticed Flash Thompson, a tall, blond and generally massive football player. He was pushing Peter Parker into a locker, making him spill his books everywhere. Peter was the school's fallguy. He was short, skinny, and a total bookworm. Peter picked up his books and pushed up his glasses in frustration as he stormed away. Scarlett felt sorry for him, but what could she do? It wasn't like she had much sway with the popular crowd herself.

Finally, she made it to the science lab and found a place in the far corner of the room. Peter was still fuming at the lab station in the front of the classroom. The science class was the usual fare, Scarlett wasn't really that interested in science. She gave a yawn and realized that class was nearly over when the instructor cleared his throat.

"Now, remember," Mr. Roberts, a lanky middle-aged man with dark hair, began, "the bus for the field trip to the Oscorp Research Center leaves here tomorrow at nine o'clock tomorrow morning. If you can't make it, find a ride. Just be there by nine-thirty."

Oscorp? That was tomorrow? She could have sworn that wasn't for another month. Shaking her head, she took a second to wipe her eyes as she realized that she has been spending too much time day dreaming. What was this class even about?

The ho-hum monotony of this school was getting to Scarlett. Sure, she saw the news, read articles online, but nothing sensational has ever happened in this corner of Queens. No mutants in hiding or costumed superheroes. How does that stuff even happen? Once again, she realized that she was in her own world as her face crashed into an open locker.

"Hey, where's the fire?" A familiar voiced called down to her. A red-headed beauty peeked from the other side of the locker with a sympathetic smile.

Feeling her cheeks burn with embarrassment, Scarlett got back to her feet. "Mary Jane, sorry. I—"

"You were spacing out again," Mary Jane finished her sentence.

Believe it or not, Mary Jane was Scarlett's best friend. They have known each other since they were in grade school. The two of them were an odd pair. While Scarlett herself wasn't bad-looking, she was not anything special. When standing next to Mary Jane's radiance, that point was all-too-clear. What made Mary Jane always stand out to Scarlett was one crucial fact: Mary Jane was the only one to pay attention to her. Everyone else acted as if she was not there.

"Yeah," the brunette admitted.

The two of them walked together down the hall. It was a totally different experience. Scarlett did not have to work to get through the hall. Who wouldn't part way for such a beauty? Scarlett blinked and wondered why she always had these weird thoughts about Mary Jane. She pushed it aside and continued on her way.

The rest of the day was the same boring nonsense that Scarlett has done for ages. Everything was always so blasé, like she has done it all before, probably because she has. Sure, the difficulty may increase every year, but the routine is essentially the same. Go to school, go home, do homework, study a little, watch TV, maybe call Mary Jane, and then go to bed and do it all over again. Were these really the best years of her life? If so, the rest of her life must be a boring, waking nightmare.

"Why don't you get a boyfriend?" Mary Jane suggested, as she was gathering her things to go home.

"Huh?" Scarlett snapped out of her world.

"You were just talking about how you want more excitement in your life and a guy might do that."

Rolling her eyes, she replied, "That's easy for you to say. Oh, just go get a boyfriend. Boys aren't interested in me."

Mary Jane's locker slammed making Scarlett jump. The other girl looked down at her and said, "Trust me, if you took maybe fifteen extra minutes in the morning, you wouldn't have to try very hard, either. You're a very pretty girl; you just hide it too much."

It wasn't like Scarlett could argue. She wore baggy t-shirts and pants. Not because she was making a statement, just because they were comfortable. Mary Jane was right, though. Beauty was often not about comfort and certainly not convenience. She knew very well that Mary Jane didn't just wake up and naturally have her make up on and her hair done, she needed to work at it like any other girl.

The smile on Mary Jane's face fell as her stare looked over Scarlett's shoulder. "Don't look, but Liz is headed this way. Just don't pay attention to her and hopefully—"

"Well, if it isn't Miss Mousey and Big Red," Liz Allan called out to her from behind.

Scarlett turned and saw an attractive blonde girl wearing a cheerleading uniform. She would think of her as pretty if she didn't know about the venom that comes out of her mouth. Liz was flanked by two of her cheerleader friends—both would ordinarily be seen as attractive. Scarlett never bothered to learn their names. One of them was named Samantha, right? She could have sworn—

"Hey! I'm talking to you. Come back to Earth, Mousy." Liz called out to her.

Her mind was racing; she didn't know what to say. Seeing her friend in trouble, Mary Jane grabbed Scarlett's hand and yelled, "Sorry, but we have something we need to do. Bye!" The bigger girl pulled Scarlett along by her hand and left a smirking Liz Allan behind. Just outside, she stopped and turned to look at her friend. "Look, Scar, you can't let girls like that walk over you. If you can't think of something to say, then just go. Don't give them any satisfaction."

"She still seemed pleased with herself," Scarlet retorted.

Mary Jane sighed. "Only because she knew she got under your skin. You froze."

"She called you a name too, you know."

Flashing a smile, Mary Jane said, "Yeah, but I know how awesome I am, so things she says don't bug me. You need to build up some self-esteem, girl."

That was easier said than done. If she looked as good as Mary Jane, she was sure she would be brimming with self-esteem too. Liz knew where to hit Scarlett where it hurt. She was self-conscious about her height and round face. Getting called "Mousy" made her so… Scarlett's fist clenched at her side and her body grew a little rigid. Oh, she got under her skin alright.

Taking in a breath, Scarlett started walking and said, "Oh, well, I'm going home now."

Mary Jane opened her mouth to say something, but then sighed and shook her head.

* * *

><p>Scarlett tossed her schoolbag against the wall absentmindedly as she walked through the front door of the small two-bedroom apartment. The dingy apartment was kept as clean as possible, her father saw to that. She took some time to look around before concluding that her parents weren't back from work yet.<p>

Taking a moment, she noticed a picture of the three of them together. They looked exactly as they were: a happy family. Despite what the media likes to say, there are a few happy families left in the country. Her parents rarely fought and were quick to make up when they did. There was little to no family drama in her life. Her father, Richard, was a tall man, completely unlike her. No, she took after her mother in that department. He had brown hair mixed with some pepper and a beard that scratched her face when they hugged. Her mother, Lana, had long, blonde hair and looked kind, but was emotionally distant. She let Scarlett know she cared through small things, like packing an extra cookie in her lunch.

It's a weekday afternoon and she's alone. What else would a teenager do in her situation? She picked up her school bag and took out her books to do her homework at the kitchen table, of course. Isn't that what everyone does?

Just as she is getting situated, the door opened and her father came in energetically, tossing his keys in a dish by the door. He smiled at her and said, "How was school?"

She blandly looked back and said, "Same as always."

He walked over to Scarlett. "Oh, come now! I bet there's a boy you like, huh?"

Shrugging, Scarlett replied, "Not really. School's only been back for two weeks."

"Well, that's fine. Your mother was a late bloomer too."

"Where is she?" She asked, tapping her pencil on her math notebook.

He waved a hand and said, "Oh, she texted me that her meeting was running late." He looked down at his watch. He lived his life by that watch. She doubted that he was ever late for anything in his life. He was a bus driver. Not a glamorous job, but he enjoyed it. He was the opposite of her mother, who worked at Murdock Law Firm as an associate.

Lana took her job seriously and is gunning for a partner position right now. That meant that she was hardly home anymore, so her father was relied on to pick up the slack. It was something he did in stride. Visibly, he did not seem to mind and showed a near infinite amount of patience.

Clapping his hands, Richard walked into the kitchen to figure out what to make for dinner that night. Scarlett turned her attention back to her math homework, wondering briefly why her father asked her about boys before continuing to work.

Later that night, her mother came home late. She knew this because she woke up to her parents yelling. They never yelled at each other like this. Putting her pillow over her head, she did what she always did when they fought and pretended like it wasn't happening. They would forgive each other by tomorrow morning and everything will be fine again. Just like always.

* * *

><p>Scarlett woke up to a heavy atmosphere in the house. It made her nervous, but she got ready like she always did. Everything was fine. Everything was always fine because nothing ever changed. It'll just be a boring day, just like all others. She kept reassuring herself, but something gnawed at the back of her mind. She didn't like it.<p>

Her parents were both gone to work, but that was the same as usual. She double-checked to make sure that she had everything she needed for the field trip today. There was an extra two cookies in her lunch today instead of the usual one. A cold feeling crept up her spine, but she chose to ignore it as she left the apartment.

Walking to school was unnerving. Usually she just drifted off into her own world and the trip was quick, but her mind was staying alert. It wasn't allowing her to distract herself like she usually did. By the time she got to school, her patience was running thin and it was only the morning. The bus was waiting for her in the bus-loading area; the teacher was outside checking people off as they loaded. She approached him.

"Ah, there you are, Miss Navy. You okay? You look a little pale." Mr. Roberts asked.

She gave a quick smile and said, "No—I mean, yes, I'm fine." Then she hurried onto the bus.

Looking around, she saw that the bus was already fairly packed. Did it take her longer to get to school than it usually did? Her whole day is off. Exasperated, she looked around for an open spot, there was only one. Mary Jane looked up at her as if to say, "Sorry." She looked again, but no luck. Shrugging, she walked to the back wheel of the bus and sat next to Peter Parker. He looked surprised and then immediately looked away. Well, sorry for not being Mary Jane, tiger. Jeez.

With that, they were soon on their way, traveling down the busy streets, heading to the research facility on the edge of downtown. Scarlett attempted to occupy herself by looking out the window, but it wasn't like she was seeing anything for the first time. Why is everything taking so long today? Finally, they pulled up to a tall building with a sign that said _Oscorp Research Center_.

Before anyone could move, Mr. Roberts stood up. He held up his hands to silence the bus and announced, "Take a look at the person you're sitting next to. They're your partner. Anywhere you go and everything you do will be with this person. Don't let them leave your sight. If your partner skips out on you, you will use participation points just like them. Now, let's go."

Great, I'm stuck with Parker. How could this day get any worse? It's not like she hated him, but he never gave her a reason to like him, either. They filed out of the bus and Peter busied himself fiddling with his camera as they entered the facility. There was a tall woman of African descent waiting for them in the lobby. Mr. Roberts took a moment to shake her hand and formally thank her for her time.

Meanwhile, Scarlett's eyes were moving around the large, impressive lobby. It had high ceilings, plain walls with lights cut into the ground work. There were chairs, but they seemed to be shorter than most chairs. Whoever this Osborn guy was, he seemed to have a thing about making everyone else feel inferior.

Peter gave her a nudge as the group started to move on. He really is a serious guy, huh? The woman led them into a room that seemed design to showcase the research being conducted in the facility. The usual affair: weapons research, biochemistry, genetics… You know, sciencey things. Scarlett gave a yawn as she listened to the guide speak—only tuning in to halfway through her speech.

"…And this," She gestured to a thirty-inch monitor which was displaying information about spiders and DNA, "is what you'll be walking through today. We're using radiation to manipulate the genetic structure of spiders. We're hoping that if we succeed, our research can be applied to more complex creatures—maybe someday humans. We could cure genetic disorders and diseases before they manifest. Come along. There's more to see in the lab." The guide led them further into the facility.

As they walking through, Scarlett comments, "Cure diseases? Yeah, right. They're just going to use it weaponize people."

Peter gave her a surprised look.

"What?"

"I…just wasn't expecting such an observation out of you." Peter said, impressed.

She rolled her eyes. "I pay attention to stuff sometimes. Besides if there's one thing I enjoy, it's current events."

Peter and her lagged behind a bit to have their brief conversation. They rushed to catch up, but Peter stopped short and she accidentally ran into him, knocking him forward a bit. Gasping, she grabbed his arm and pulled him back just before he would have hit Flash.

"I'm so sorry, are you—ow!" She winced, slapping the back of her neck, but nothing was there. Something bit her! She looked around and saw a spider scurrying away. A strange, tingly feeling rushed through her body. Was that spider poisonous?

"I'm okay. Is something wrong?" Peter asked.

Up ahead, she could hear someone point out that there were ten cages, but only nine spiders in the cages. Her eyes narrowed a bit, her mind putting the pieces together. Was she bitten by one of the radioactive spiders? Should she tell someone? But she wasn't sure, there could be other spiders around and she feels fine. Great, in fact. She looked down at her hand and clenched it. She…feels good. It's probably better not to cause alarm, anyway.

The rest of the trip was about as exciting as one would expect—at least for anyone that isn't Parker. He looked like he was having the time of his life. Let him have his day, he probably doesn't get many like this.

* * *

><p>It was late afternoon by the time that Scarlett was walking home from school. She stopped and took notice how she didn't feel like she was getting tired from the walk. She had never been athletic. Looking up and down the street, she didn't see anyone. She shrugged and then sprinted as fast as she could; she was amazed it was like she had the grace of a cheetah! She leaped into the air and grew a bit terrified of her own abilities when she went farther up than she had intended. A dull buzz in the back of her skull rang out as she approached a telephone pole. Uh-oh! She surrendered to her instincts and closed her eyes.<p>

When pain didn't follow, she opened her eyes and found that she was holding onto the pole. But with what? She moved her hands and found the surface to be sticky—wait, it wasn't the pole. Her hands were sticky! Not only that, but her arms were supporting her weight. Slowly, she climbed down and took a moment to stare at her hands.

What happened to her? Was…she a mutant? Or did it have something to do with that spider that bit her? No, that's silly! But it was the only thing that made any sense. She couldn't think about this right now, she walked the rest of the way home. Why did this happen to me? Will these strange powers eventually go away?


	2. Issue 2: Not a Hero

**The Sensational Spider-Girl**

_Issue #2: Not a Hero_

When Scarlett finally managed to get home, her head swimming with confusion over her new abilities, she found her mother and father waiting for her. That tingling chill at the base of her spine from earlier this morning returned. Looking at the two of them, seated at the circular dining table, her brows furrowed. Her father was bent over with his head in his hands. Her mother just sat there. Rigidly.

Her mother stood up and took a second, avoiding eye contact, before her eyes snapped to Scarlett and she said, "Scar, there's something we need to tell you."

Dropping her schoolbag by the door, the teenager continued into the room but didn't sit down. "What's going on?" She looked back to her father, who was shaking his head in his hands, his face still obscured by his hands.

"Your father and I will be needing some time apart," Lana said. She was attempting to sound calm, but her voice broke a bit at the end.

The room was quiet for a while. Scarlett took a few paces before asking, "What? Why?"

"Things have been rocky for a while," her mother said, walking over to her daughter. She tried to reach out to rub Scarlett's arm, but the teenage girl pulled away.

"No!" Scarlett said and slapped her mother's hand away. "No. You two rarely fight. Like never."

The blonde woman looked at Scarlett. Her mouth twitched and Scarlett realized that she had hurt her pretty badly. "Just because we didn't fight doesn't mean that nothing wasn't wrong."

Finally, her father stood. "It would have never happened if you hadn't been away so much!" His face was red and a vein pulsed in his neck. Scarlett realized then that he hadn't been hiding his face to obscure his tears or to hide that he was hurt. He didn't want her to see him so angry. As soon as the words came out of his mouth, he realized that he had made a mistake. The color faded from his face and eyes widened with fear as Scarlett backed away from him.

Words falling out in stammers, Scarlet asked, "What's going on?"

Once again, Lana reached out and to touch her daughter, this time Scarlett let her. "Sweetie, your father and I need to talk. Could you go do your homework in your room?"

Suddenly, she felt helpless. Looking from her mother to her father, she asked, "Are you getting a divorce?"

Silence answered the question. A silence heavy with the loss of the years they would never spend together as a family. The shattering of the infinite little moments they shared. It all felt so… So meaningless. They didn't yell. They didn't fight. As Scarlett sat in her room that night. A room filled with posters of various indie bands, clothes strewn about the floor, it was a monument to an innocent time. She sat at her desk: books open, pencil in her hand, but all she did was hold her breath in the dim light of her lamp, listening to the hushed conversation in the kitchen—wondering about the secrets that were being said, kept hidden from her.

* * *

><p>Her dad had done something. They wouldn't tell her what, but she made that much out. Something terrible. But he was her dad. Her ever-patient, smirk on his face, cheerful father. What could he have done? It didn't make any sense to her, but she also remembered the anger he displayed the night before. Such raw emotion had never crossed his face in front of her before. Naturally, it was all she thought about the following morning as she once again got ready in an empty home. She snagged her lunch off the counter, not bothering to check what was inside. On the walk to school, she realized that her eyes were aching. Having been so distracted by her thoughts, she hadn't noticed how blurry her vision was until she passed by a sign and the letters were all blurry. Did she forget her glasses? It had never happened before. It had become second-nature to grab her glasses when she woke up each morning. Always on her end table in arm's reach. Reaching up, confusion struck her as she realized she was wearing her glasses. Her brow twitched and she pulled off her glasses to check to see if they were dirty; however, upon removing them, her vision instantly cleared. Putting the glasses back on: blurry. Off: clear.<p>

"Scar, look out!" Mary Jane, Scarlett recognized her voice, screamed out from in front of her.

Honestly, she had been very distracted by her glasses, but even before Mary Jane had shouted her warning, a pang hummed on the back of her skull. Her body felt like it was moving on its own as she suddenly twisted to the side, a football whistled passed her ear and then bounced harmlessly before Mary Jane's feet.

MJ was in awe, as shown by her mouth agape. She blinked and then ran over. "Are you okay?"

Scarlett just nodded, but her lip betrayed her as water wavered in her eyes.

Her best friend pulled her into her arms and rubbed her head. "Hey, it's okay. It was just a football."

"Not the football," Scar said, enjoying the closeness and comfort. She gave a choke as she sobbed. "My parents. They're splitting up."

The redhead's embrace tightened. "That sucks. I'm sorry—do you need to go home?"

Pulling away, she shook her head. "No, I can't be there right now." Taking a moment to glance around, Scarlett noticed some people staring. It was the closest she had ever gotten to being the center of attention.

"Where are your glasses? Did they fly off?" Mary Jane asked and looked around at the ground.

"No," Scarlett said, "Umm… I got contacts." Why was she lying? Well, telling anyone that you don't need glasses anymore because of super spider powers may cause anyone—even her best friend—raise their eyebrows.

Mary Jane gave a smile. "I didn't know that you were getting contacts."

"It was completely spontaneous. I didn't plan on it."

The two girls split up at the main entrance. Mary Jane had something to take care of before school, Scarlett just went to her locker. You knew you were having a bad day when high school seemed like a better place to be than home. Throwing open her locker, she pulled out her books and hung up her bag. Collecting her books for her first class, she reached the close the door when an envelope on the inside, stuck by accident to a bit of metal, caught her attention. It looked like someone had slipped it in through the grate. She took a look around, but no one was paying attention to her anymore, per usual. She fished the envelope out from the bit of metal. _Open in private_ was written on it in sharpie.

Scarlett checked her phone. Still plenty of time before class. Closing her locker, she slinked off down the halls to the nearby girl's restroom. It was empty at the moment and she ducked into one of the stalls. Locking it, she carefully sat down on the toilet seat. Wasting no time, she ripped open the envelope with her a swift motion of her finger. The paper held very little resistance, surprisingly. Some photos slid out of the envelope into her head and a piece of paper. The photos were of her great jump and trick with the pole last afternoon. She had just convinced herself that it had been a daydream. A vivid day dream, but these photos don't lie.

The note simply said, "We need to talk. After school, behind the old shed. Peter Parker."

Things just got worse and she didn't say some ironic line before it had happened. No, this day was simply out to get her. Her hands shook and the photos crumbled in her grip as fury thundered through her veins. Parker! What does he want to do with these? She knew he was nothing but a worm! Thanks to that note, Scarlett spent the rest of the day quietly fuming. MJ tried to ask her what was wrong, but there was no way she could tell her.

* * *

><p>After school, Scarlett found herself waiting behind the old shed on the other side of the football field. This shed used to be used for housing sports and landscaping equipment. It was deemed unsafe, though, and the school built another one conveniently next to the school. Despite this, the old relic remained here for the sake of ghost stories and urban legends. She always thought it had a creepy atmosphere and that was enough to deter her. Now, not only her irrational fear of sheds could keep her from putting an end to this Parker problem.<p>

"Oh, you got here before me," A quiet voice came from behind her, around the corner came Peter.

She scowled and said, "Oh, imagine that! I'm punctual to the meeting where I'll be black mailed."

"Who said anything about black mail?" Peter said, disgust curling his lip.

Relief washed away my anger like a spring rain: cool and relaxing waves throughout my body. "What? You mean you're not?"

He shook his head. "I have no interest in monetary pursuits. All I'm interested in is how you're able to do what you did in those pictures."

Scarlett's eyes narrowed as she asked, "How were you able to get those photos anyway?"

He pantomimed walking in place. "I was on my way home, a few blocks behind you." He pointed up. "But then I thought I saw a rare spider in the alley, so I peeked inside. When I came out, I saw you running really fast. Fast enough that I thought I might be able to get a good picture. By the time I took out my picture, you jumped. I quickly snapped the photos and…yeah, that's it."

"So… Curiosity? That's it?" She asked and the nerdy boy gave a nod. "Well, sorry. If you want answers, you came to the wrong place. It's as big of a mystery to me."

"Are you a mutant?" Parker asked the dreaded question. The question made Scarlett's skin crawl.

Shaking her head. "I don't think so. Honestly—no, it's stupid."

A sparkle of intrigue appeared in Peter's eye. "What?"

"Well," Scarlett began sheepishly, "keep in mind that I warned you that it's stupid."

"Out with it already."

"Remember when we went to that lab place? After I kept you from bumping into Flash, something bit me." She reached behind her neck. She could feel a hot mark still there.

"Bit you?" The intrigue in Parker's face faded into concern. Maybe Peter was an okay guy after all.

"A spider. Not just a spider. One of the spiders that was on display." She finally finished.

Peter's eyes widened as something clicked inside of his head. "Someone did say that one of the spiders was missing." He looked like he was in thought for a moment and then said, "Tell you what, come over to my place sometime. I may not be that well-versed in biology as chemistry, but I do have some basic equipment."

"Equipment for what?" Scarlett asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"To study your blood samples and try to figure out what happened," Parker said.

Scarlett gave him a look. "No way, you're just some kid in high school. No way you can do all that."

Peter pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I'm not just some kid. My father was a scientist. This stuff runs in my blood." There was a moment of silence. "Look, I can help you. You can either trust me or take your chances at a hospital, but given how they treat mutants…"

Putting her hands up in defeat, Scarlett said, "Okay, okay! Fine! You win."

He gave a smirk and said, "Good. I'm on your side, you know. I always wanted to know a hero."

Scarlett stared at him for a few seconds, processing what he had just said. She gave a chuckle. "Uh, no… I'm no hero. I'm just some girl. Plus, can you imagine me running around in spandex?"

Crossing his arms, he looked off at the street beyond the chain link fence. "You know, Uncle Ben always said, 'With great power must also come great responsibility.' You have power, Scarlett, you should use it to help people."

A light autumn drizzle began to fall then. "Like I said," she turned on her heel and began walking away, "I'm no hero. I have my own problems to deal with right now."


	3. Issue 3: From the Ashes

**The Sensational Spider-Girl**

_Issue #3: From the Ashes_

The light drizzle had turned into a down pour of frigid rain by the time that Scarlett returned home, her wind breaker and spirit soaked. She hung the dripping jacket on the door knob of the coat closet. The apartment hung with chilling anticipation. No one was in the kitchen and dining area, nor the living room. No one was there to ask her where she had been. After a moment, Scarlett noticed a commotion down the hall. Walking down it, she realized it was coming from her room. A mix of curiosity and anger for the invasion of privacy shot through her throat, making her hold her breath. Walking into the door, she found her mother packing some of her clothes away into a bag.

"What're you doing?" Scarlett asked, stomping into the room.

Giving a jump, Lana gasped and touched her chest. "Oh, Scar! Did hear you come home."

Ignoring that, Scarlett pointed at the bag and asked again, "What're you doing with my stuff?"

Lana looked away, down at the back and continued to put clothes into it. "You deserve better than this rundown apartment. I decided to get a better one."

"Rundown?" Scarlett looked around, there were cracks in the wall, the shower broke down at least once a month, and the heat was often shoddy, but… "This our home."

Her mother stopped putting the clothes away and sighed. "I'm sorry, but I…can't live here anymore and your father…"

"What about Dad?" Scarlett asked, fear building in the pit of her stomach. "What happened to Dad?" When her mother wouldn't answer, Scarlett grabbed her and made her face her. "What—"

Tears were quietly sliding down Lana's cheeks. "He's gone."

It was like everything she knew was gone. Her father was her rock. He was always dependable. Never complained. He was always there. This was impossible. The father she knew would have never left. Never. "You're lying."

Her mother tried to reach out to her. "Honey…"

Scarlett backed away, shaking her head. "You're lying!" Continuing to back away, she pointed at the distraught middle-aged woman and said while jabbing her index finger at her, "You're lying."

With that, she ran down the hall, threw on her jacket, and ran back outside into the rain. As she walked down the darkening streets, it was hard to tell if the wetness on her cheeks was the rain or her tears. Her sobs were muted by the traffic. Soon, she found herself outside of a convenience store. She only noticed it by accident. Her eyes drifted to the windows of the store where she found the clerk with a gun pointed at him. Her eyes widened and she realized a few things at that moment: one, that she had never even seen a gun in real life before; two, she should help; three, she didn't know how. Instead, she stood there, her feet frozen to the sidewalk, staring in as the clerk dumped all of the money from the cash register into a paper bag. The crook snagged the bag and said something before running out of the store. As he ran out, Scarlett stared at him. He had visible stubble, a slight dirty blond mullet, and his blue eyes. His eyes were not what she was expecting. They were not full of malice, but fear and desperation.

Still, realizing she was staring, he said, "What'chu lookin' at?" Without warning, he pushed her down into a puddle and ran off, his feet splashing and a few others dodging out of his way.

Wet, defeated and now completely sopping wet, she watched as the clerk ran out of the store, his clutched his head with his hands. "I'm sorry," she said, surprising herself.

The clerk, a middle-aged man who appeared to be going gray prematurely just cast a glare at her and said, "What could you have done, kid?"

A dozen different things that could have stopped that from happening, she thought. She just looked down and stood up. With nowhere else to go, soaked, and shaken, Scarlett finally decided it was time to go back home.

When she got back home, she found her mother waiting at the table. For a moment, she thought she saw her father there, next to her. He looked apologetic and sheepish, his eyes begged for forgiveness. She blinked and he was gone.

"Where have you been?" her mother asked, her voice sharp with anger and worry.

Crying, alone, saw a burglary, you know… The usual. Scarlett just looked away and said, "Nowhere… Just…walking."

"It's dangerous out there at night—you know that," Lana said. She stood up and looked her daughter up and down. "Go get some new clothes on, those are sopping wet!"

"When are we leaving?" Scarlett asked.

"Tomorrow," her mother said, pointing down the hall. "Go."

* * *

><p>Friday. Remember when Fridays were something you looked forward to? The weekend represented new possibility, fun, and time to just laying on your bed and listen to music. Now, Scarlett will forever know it as the day that she left her childhood home. The day after her father left them behind. Why? It still didn't make sense to her. She suddenly found herself envious of the life she had just a few days prior, blissfully unaware of the oncoming onslaught of misfortune.<p>

It was all she could think about at school. That and how powerless she felt. Everything reminded her of what little she could influence. It was funny, in a bitter way. Here she was, she had super powers. You would think that would give her more influence in the world than everyone else, but it didn't. She was but an infant in front of the cruelness of reality.

She gripped her right hand, her left was carrying her books. Scarlett was leaning against her locker. The mass of the student body flowing past her. Looking to her side, Mary Jane was still digging in her locker. "Parker lives next door to you, right?" I asked.

Mary Jane nodded and said, "Yeah."

Scarlett remained quiet for a moment and then asked, "Does he normally come straight home after school?"

Still digging in her locker, Mary Jane whispered, "Where is—yeah, he does. Like clockwork." Then she stopped and looked down at her friend and asked, "Wait a minute, why are you asking about Pete?"

"No reason," Scarlett said, watching the people pass.

The redhead turned to her and smirked. "Are you interested in him?"

Scarlett shot a glare at Mary Jane and said, "No."

"It's okay if you are, I was wondering when you would start to like someone," Mary Jane said with a laugh in her voice and turned back to find the book she was looking for right on the top. She nodded and took it out. "Of course."

Scarlett shook her head. "I don't like him, I was just curious."

"Whatever you say, hotshot," Mary Jane said, still smiling.

The two of them walked down the hall together. Anger was rearing its head in Scarlett's chest, but it wasn't directed at Mary Jane. It was the situation. Who cares if she has never been interested in guys? Why does everyone think it's their business to stick their nose into her love life? There was something particularly frustrating whenever MJ did. Scarlett didn't know why.

* * *

><p>Scarlett avoided going home. She knew what was waiting for her there. Instead, she waited for a while after school, hoping to give Mary Jane enough of a head start, so she wouldn't know she was going to visit Peter. The last thing she wanted was MJ giving her anymore smirks. When enough time past, she left. Mary Jane and her didn't live that far away from each other, just a few blocks. Still, it wasn't like she was next door. She was always jealous of Peter for having that privilege. Having her best friend right next door what have been great growing up.<p>

Stepping onto the block, she was relieved to find the sidewalk out front of Mary Jane's house to be without the said girl. She walked up to Peter's house and gave the door a knock.

A kindly elderly woman opened the door and smiled at her. "Hello, dear, is there something you need?"

Scarlett gave her a smile and said, "Is Peter home?"

The woman looked surprised and then smiled at her with extra warmth. "Yes, he is. Come in." She stepped aside and opened the door wider as Scarlett entered the home. Closing the door behind Scarlett with a snap, she gave the teenage girl another smile. "I'm Peter's aunt, May."

"Nice to meet you," Scarlett said with a smile and a nod.

An older man, maybe a few years older than May, stepped into the room, his eyebrows high with curiosity. "Who is this now?"

Scarlett's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. She wasn't used to so much attention. "Scarlett. Scarlett Navy."

He gave a nod and crossed his arms. "Ah, your Mary Jane's friend."

She gave an incredulous grin. "How do you know me?"

Reaching out with his hand, he said, "I'm Ben Parker."

Shaking his hand, Scarlett realized the roughness of his hands, the strength of his grip, it was similar to her father's. She gave a small smile at him and he returned it with a wink.

May gave Scarlett's shoulder a reassuring touch. "Her mother told us about you."

"Well, I hope the rumors live up to the real thing," Scarlett said, wondering what the hell she was talking about.

Just then, Peter came blundering down the stairs with a lot more spirit than she had ever seen him display. Seeing the girl, he froze a few steps away from the bottom. "Oh, Scarlett!" he said, fumbling a bit with the railing. "I… Well, you came over for…the thing."

"Yeah," she said, giving him a look. Really?

Pointing down, he said, "My stuff is actually in the basement."

"That's nowhere to take a girl," May said, eyeing him.

Scarlett flashed her a smile and said, "Peter and I are in the same science class. He's tutoring me."

Peter pointed at her and heaved a nod. "Exactly. My equipment is downstairs."

May nodded and seemed to understand, but she gave the girl another smile before disappearing into the kitchen.

Peter led her to a narrow door and down a narrow wooden staircase. It was like walking down into a crypt. Once downstairs, he flipped on a light. There were wooden beams that came down from the ceiling. One side of the wall was covered in boxes for holiday decorations and random junk that probably had a lot of sentimental value. There were a lot of antiques too. Other than that, the room was stocked with tables that had scientific equipment, books, and papers strewn about them. A laptop was sitting at the very end of the line of tables, along with a chair that must have been at least thirty years old.

Peter turned to Scarlett, crossed his arms. "What made you change your mind?"

She frowned and said, "I'm tired of it. I'm tired of being powerless. Being part of the crowd. I want to seize hold of my life and use it to help people."

He smiled and said, "Now you're starting to sound like a superhero."

Scarlett eyes narrows and she said, "You're such a nerd."

"Maybe," he said with a smirk, "but I can help you find the answers you're looking for." Walking over to one of the tables, he picks up a syringe and said, "A little bit of blood and we'll be in business."

Peter did take the time to explain his methodology of the tests he was going to run on her blood, but it was all a garbled mess to Scarlett. She couldn't follow it very well. Still, it sounded like he knew what he was doing. Then he randomly asked, "Do you have a costume yet?"

"A what?" Scarlett asked. She had been looking over at his shoulder. He was doing something science on his laptop.

"You know, a costume. Everyone hero needs one." Peter said, beaming. He was really getting into this.

She shook her hand and said, "This isn't like a comic book, Parker."

"Come on!" he throws his hand up into the air, nearly slapping her face. "Even the X-Men have costumes! You need one." Scarlett just frowned in response, but he kept going, "Maybe red and blue."

Cocking an eyebrow, her left eye gave a twitch. "What? I would never be caught dead in such a weird color combination."

Peter turned his head, his glasses were halfway down his nose. "Why not? Hell, it's in your name."

"I didn't choose my name," Scarlett said. "Maybe black and red."

"Like a black widow!" Peter said, pointing his finger up, once again nearly hitting her. Swiveling his ancient chair around to look at her, he said, "This is still going to take some time. From what I see here, though, it's remarkable. Like a one in a billion thing. There is trace amounts of radioactivity in your blood still, but it isn't harming you. In fact, it was the catalyst for your change. Your DNA was changed by the spider, the radioactivity broke apart…" After that, he might as well have been speaking in static.

Finally, Scarlett raised her hands to stop him. "Okay, okay! You have an idea of how this works, great."

He nodded and squinted at the screen. "What's weird is there seems to be some chemicals in your blood for webbing."

"Webbing?" I asked, suddenly fear erupting out of my mouth. "Does that mean I'll start shooting webs from my butt?"

Peter smiled at the notion, but shook his head. "No, the chemicals are being produced, but there's nowhere for them to go. Your body doesn't know what to do with them. But! I may be able to create some synthetic webbing from it."

Scarlett grimaced and her nose scrunched up. "Why would you want to do that?"

"Trust me," he said, adding emphasis with his hands. "I think I have a really cool idea—but it'll be a surprise." What a sly guy. There was silence for a while and then asked, "You should get MJ to make your costume."

"MJ?" she asked. "I haven't told her about this yet."

"Why not? You two are best friends, right?" he asked, his brows descending for a moment.

"We are, but…" Scarlett looks at the microscope across the table for a second. "Would you tell her in my situation?"

The light from the screen was glaring off of his glasses, making it impossible to see what his eyes might be expressing. "I…don't know."


	4. Issue 4: Donning the Webs

**The Sensational Spider-Girl**

_Issue #4: Donning the Webs_

Scarlett's grandma taught her how to sew fabric together when she was little, before she died young. She was about as rusty as she suspected. Biting her lower lip, she winced as the needle once again pierced her finger. Coming up with the costume was the hard part. Spider. Something spidery. Scarlett sat at her desk for hours drawing concepts. Honestly, the idea was still absurd, but she admired Pete's enthusiasm. He did have a point: she had these powers; it was wasteful not to do something with them. But a super hero? Weren't there already a bunch of those running around? Scarlett had done nothing with her life up until now. Maybe now she could find some meaning in the everyday. Some reason to keep living in the wake of everything else.

The move was abrupt. Considering that they hadn't moved in her entire life, she was sad to leave. The apartment had its problems: the pipes sometimes leaked, there were cracks in the walls, and there were bugs, but it was home. It was where she grew up. Boxes were collected at the front door. The furniture had already been moved out by the movers. Scarlett had literally never seen what the old place looked like without life.

"Good riddance," her mother had said.

"You can't mean that," Scarlett said.

Her mother just shook her head. "You don't remember how it was really like to live here, especially as a lawyer at a competent firm."

A fire grew within her chest as she said, "You only ever cared about your career."

Her mother looked pained, as if her daughter had just stabbed her. "I worked as hard as I did for you. Your father did nothing."

"He was here," Scarlett said.

"Where is he now?" her mother said, her lips curled into a snarl. Her eyes widened and then she held out her hand to Scarlett. "I'm sorry, I…"

Turning her head away, she said quietly, "Let's just go."

While finishing moving and unpacking, Scarlett couldn't decide if she was angry at her mother or her father—maybe both. Her father gave no indication that he was unhappy or that he was so bitter toward his only daughter. Was she really that big of a failure? After the unpacking was done, she locked her bedroom door and sat down at her desk. She hasn't talked to her mother since then. Not that it was hard to avoid talking to her. She was gone most of the time. Her excuse was that now that there was only her, she needed to really pursue becoming a partner.

The days have gone by without event. Their new apartment was larger than the old one, much newer, and generally looks a lot nicer. But it didn't feel like home. She gritted her teeth and continued to sew together the fabric. The costume was black and red, like a red widow, with a large white spider on the front, its legs stretched out onto her back, where they merged together to form a hollow diamond. In the right light, the black material gave off a blue shine. It didn't turn out perfect, but the finished product was far better than she thought it could ever be.

* * *

><p>It was just after school and Scarlett was walking down the sidewalk toward Pete's house. She was excited as she could be to show him the costume. He also said he had a surprise for her. Gripping the straps of her backpack, she suddenly became self-conscious of the contents. Was she really planning to wear it outside? To do what? Fight crime? How do you even do that? Maybe she was having cold feet.<p>

"Scar!" Mary Jane called out, running up to Scarlett. "Going to Pete's again?"

She nodded. "Yeah, he wanted to show me something he has been working on."

Mary Jane smiled and asked, "You sure you're not into him? It kinda seems like it."

Scarlett frowned and said, "Maybe it looks like that, but I'm not. Sorry, I know you really want us together for some reason, but we're friends—and I'm not in the mood lately to have a boyfriend."

"Sorry, I wish I knew how to make you feel better," Mary Jane said, her eyes showing true concern.

Scarlett waved her hand, pushing the concern away. "I appreciate it, but this may be something that can't go away suddenly. My dad left. He just left. I had this image in my head of him, but…"

Her best friend went really quiet and didn't say anything. Scarlett stopped and looked at her. Mary Jane shook her head and flashed a smile. "Nothing. It's nothing."

They continued to walk in silence and waved good-bye silently as Scarlett walked up to the Parker house. She gave a knock and within seconds, Pete threw open the door and waved her in. The two of them made a bee line to the basement. Pete's Aunt May gave some kind of greeting, but Scarlett only realized it in hindsight. The excitement in Pete's eyes was almost contagious.

"You actually made a costume?" Pete asked. "You didn't ask Mary Jane or anything?"

Scarlett shook her head. "If I really am going to do this: the less people that know the better. I'm starting to wonder if telling you was such a good idea."

He held up his pointer fingers with a smile. "Well, you're not going to be thinking that for long. Not after you see what I made from analyzing your blood." Walking over to his desk, he picked up two things that resembled bracers and then walked by to hand them to Scarlett. "I found enzymes in your blood. Enzymes that your body doesn't seem to know what to do with. After doing some studying on spiders, I realized that these enzymes would ordinarily be used to create webbing, if you had the glands. Without them, these chemicals just float around in your blood and don't do anything." He took one of the bracers and put it on. "Using those enzymes, I came up with a way to produce them synthetically and to create the necessary reaction to turn them from chemicals—" He pressed a button attached to the bracers with his middle fingers and a strand of some kind of rope shot out of them. "—into viable webbing."

"Webbing?" she asked. "You're saying these things shoot webs?" Pete nodded and smiled smugly, but he deserved to be proud of himself. Scarlett couldn't believe it. "Now, if I'm putting all of this together right, I can use these for tying up bad guys?"

"Not just that," Pete said. "Think bigger. This webbing is tough. Really tough. You could hold up a car with it. You could swing on it and it wouldn't snap. This stuff would be just as good as handcuffs because there's no way anyone could move if they're wrapped in it." The young man's eyes were even wider than when they came down to the basement. He rolled his hands as he said, "Can I see it?"

Scarlett was still amazed at the invention. "What?"

Pete said, "Your costume."

"Oh, right," she said and wandered into the basement bathroom. A few minutes later, she came out wearing the costume she poured her sweat and blood into—literally—the last few weeks. She was fiddling with the wrists because she hadn't designed the costume for the web shooters. "May need to poke some holes or something."

Pete looked blown away and said, "I can't believe there's an actual super hero in my house!"

Scarlett held out her hand and said, "Calm down, okay? It's still me, Pete."

Shaking his head to snap himself out of it, he nodded to her and motioned for her to come over. "I got a tool that I could use to add the holes you need to use your web shooters."

It only took a few pokes and she was good to go. She looked down at her hands. It was odd. There was a sense of adventure and freedom building up inside of her. Almost like she was being compelled to go outside. She looked at Pete and said, "I should go test these out."

Pete went to go grab his coat. "Just give me a sec."

Scarlett took his arm. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I want to see this too," Pete said.

She shook her head. "I'm already in danger and I have super powers. Pete, I don't want you to get hurt."

"I can watch from a distance," Pete said.

Letting go of his arms, Scarlett said, "Bad idea. I shouldn't even have to say why. Where are you going to keep your distance from? An alley? Under a streetlight? Hiding behind a car? Any hiding spot in the middle of the night means a bad place for you to be."

He looked let down, but he seemed to understand. "I'm just excited. I want to see you in action."

Scarlett sighed and said, "I do too, but honestly, I hope that day never comes. The day you see me in action is the day that I let someone or something too close to my personal life—there's not much of it left. I need to protect what little of it I have."

Pete, while disappointed, gave a nod. "Alright. Is everything okay at home?"

She sighed and said, "I wish things could go back to how they were before. When I was ignorant of all this drama surrounding my parents."

* * *

><p>A short while later, Scarlett stood on top of a building. It overlooked a block where a few thugs were trying to break into a car. She was dressed in the costume with everything except her mask. Looking down at the mask with its giant, wide lenses, she was overcome for a second by a sense of responsibility. She pulled the mask on and crawled down the building to find some shadows to sneak up to the would-be car robbers. One of them was looking around while the other was uses a using a crowbar to pry open the door. Not the most efficient way to get into a car, but also far less noisy than just simply breaking the window—less dangerous too.<p>

Slinking behind a car across the street, she was amazed at how easy it was to avoid the man's gaze. Her body almost moved on its own, utilizing a strange tingling on the back of her skull. Feeling out the situation, she rolled out from behind the car, keeping low, and then shot two strands of webbing on the look-out's shins and gave them a yank, tripping him. He fell to the ground and just as his partner was turning to find out what happened, she threw a punch to his face; his body threw back against the car and crumpled to the ground. They were both out cold. Scarlett, or Spider-Girl rather, was amazed. She looked at the slight dent in the car and down at her fist. She was holding back. She didn't want to hurt them that badly, but even that was enough. Not wasting anymore time, she picked up the men—once again amazed by how light they were—and put them on the sidewalk where she bound them up with some webbing. That was easy. Really easy. Spider-Girl smiled under her mask. She had been worried for nothing.

It was just them that the tingling in the back of her skull returned, she looked around for its source and found a female figure standing atop a street light. The moment she looked at her, the figure jumped, fired some kind of grappling hook and started to swing away. Spider-Girl looked at her wrists and then wonder for a second before firing a web line up to the same street light. With a tug, she found herself springing toward the light, panic rose from her chest, but her arm almost automatically grabbed the lamp and used it to swing off. Without a second to lose, she fired another web line and attached it to a building and used it to continue to swing after the unknown figure. She didn't know who they were, but her little sense-thingy wouldn't be going off for just anyone, she was sure of it. Coming around a corner of a block, she spotted her running along a rooftop. Angling herself, she fired another web line and used her weight to accelerate the momentum of the swing, allowing her to catch up. She landed just in front of her, causing her to slide to a stop.

"Yo, where's the fire, lady?" Spider-Girl asked before she had even thought about what she was going to say when she caught up.

The woman was wearing a form-fitting cat suit, with a slightly loose belt with a few pouches, and a leather jacket with white, fluffy fur attached to the sides of the sleeves. Her long, white hair flowed about her shoulders and down her back. Spider-Girl was actually amazed that it didn't constantly get in her face. A black mask covered the top of her face and brilliant blue eyes stared at the young woman in front of her.

She only smirked at the super hero and said, "I happened by to see something interesting. You seemed to be able to take care of those common thugs easily enough."

Spider-Girl cocked a brow. She couldn't tell of the woman was complimenting her or undermining her accomplishment.

"Given how proud you seemed after you dispatched them, I would assume you're rather new to this," the cat suit lady said. "Word of advice," she walked over to her and trailed a figure down Spider-Girl's arm, "this job you're trying to do isn't for the faint of heart."

Stepping away, Spider-Girl tried to control her heart as it beat roughly inside of her chest. Her cheeks felt hot too, but she wasn't sure why. "I didn't decide to do this lightly. I have a responsibility to do this because I can do something about it."

The woman smiled at Spider-Girl's response and said, "Oh, I like that. It's cute." She got close to Spider-Girl again and whispered into her ear, "You can call me Black Cat. What can I call you?"

Again, Spider-Girl's heart was pumping so loud that she was scared that Black Cat could hear it. "Um, Spider-Girl. It's Spider-Girl."

"Spider-Girl?" Black Cat said and then giggled. "Alright, Spider-Girl." She cupped Spider-Girl's cheek in her hand, still smiling. "You must like girls. Usually only men let me this close."

The old feeling inside of Spider-Girl's chest erupted into anger as she said, "I don't like other girls."

"Sure you don't. You'd think with a full mask, you'd have at least a little bit of a poker face." With a smirk, she fired a grappling hook from somewhere underneath the sleeve of her jacket and started to swing away. "We'll see each other again, darling!"

Enraged and, honestly, confused, Spider-Girl stood there watching Black Cat swing away. She made a fist at her side and said, "But why did she make me feel that way? No other girl has made me feel—" Suddenly, a flash of Mary Jane's face appeared in her head. "Wait… No, it's not true. I don't believe it."

She didn't have much time to think about it, though, because she immediately heard a woman cry out. Without much thought, she fired a web line and swung down.

* * *

><p>Later that night, she swung down to a rooftop nearby the new apartment building and got changed. Filled with new confidence with her abilities, she was able to jump and climb down to the alley below with little difficulty. She waited for a cluster of people to walk by and slipped into the herd. She wasn't taking any chances of someone discovering her identity. Even before she slipped back into her street clothes, she paid attention to her tingly sense and looked around. Walking into the apartment, she found a strange sight: the lights were on. Her mother was sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee.<p>

As soon as the door snapped closed, she rose to her feet. "Where have you been? It's a school night."

"I didn't think you would be home tonight," Scarlett said.

Her mother glared at her. "That isn't an answer."

She sighed and said, "I was over at Pete's."

"Until now? What were you doing with him?" Her mother was gripping the cup pretty tight.

"Nothing like that, Mom. He was showing me some of his science stuff. It's pretty interesting. We lost track of time, that's all. Besides, do you really think anything is going to happen with his aunt and uncle home?"

The older woman seemed to be thinking about it for a second before nodding. "Okay, but next time just send a text or something—even if you think I'm working late again."

"Okay, I will. Sorry." Scarlett said.

Her mother gestured to the hall and said, "Get to bed."

That night, Scarlett tossed and moaned in her sleep. She had dreams of Mary Jane. It seemed like a normal day, except now and then MJ would be posed provocatively or added some sexual emphasis whenever she called her "hot shot." She woke up a few times that night, sweaty, exhausted, and scared to go back to sleep. She didn't want to think about her best friend in that way. She wanted this to go away. Couldn't it stop? Ultimately, she did something she normally never had any interest in: studying. She got up and studied for her history exam later that day. It did the job and got her top just stop thinking. But she was worried. How would she be able to look Mary Jane in the eyes today? She dropped her pencil and rubbed her eyes, trying not to cry. Did Black Cat do something to her? She had to have done something. She's not a lesbian. She's never had a boyfriend or had found a boy attractive, so? What does that even prove? Nothing. Still, every time she thought of Mary Jane or the Black Cat, desire filled her up. And Mary Jane, her chest ached and blossomed with warmth.

Under her breath, Scarlett said, "I'm not a lesbian."


End file.
